Pleasant Surprises
by Raine Solo
Summary: [AU - MisaoXSoujiro] Soujiro goes to his uncle Shishio's office every Sunday to pass time. One fateful Sunday, he recognizes a familiar girl from school who opens his heart to lots of pleasant surprises. [Chapter 3 uploaded! ;]
1. I Mysterious Wonders

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PLEASANT SURPRISES  
Chapter One - Mysterious Wonders  
(c) Original Storyline by Rainesolo  
=====  
  
"RRRRRIIINNNNNGGG!!!"   
  
The alarm shook in vibration, buzzing with a deafening alarm. Soujiro was not startled at all; instead he sat wide-awake on his bed, not threatened by the noise. He lazily pressed down on the 'snooze' button, stopping the loud noise. He stared into his alarm clock and read the time.  
  
"Ten o' clock PM," he said as he read the digital display slowly, and word per word. Suddenly, his door opened. He jerked his head sideward and saw red hair and an orange robe by the door, and he knew exactly who it was. "Come in...Yumi-san."  
  
Yumi - his aunt - let out a throaty laugh as she walked towards Soujiro's bed. "Okay, so I thought I was the weird one. Soujiro, you're weird...alarm clocks at night...hmm..."   
  
"I know it's very strange, but I do it just to keep track of the hour. I lost the chance to get into soccer varsity last year because I was late for the try-outs by 20 minutes. I didn't turn on my alarm." Soujiro smiled. "So I got into the habit of turning on alarms to keep track of the time."  
  
Yumi smiled back. "Me and your uncle Shishio's little perfectionist..." she said, putting a hand on her waist. "What's the occasion?"  
  
"No occasion, just a stupid reason."  
  
"Okay then, what is it?"  
  
Soujiro sweatdropped. "Er...just so I can sleep on time"  
  
Yumi placed a hand on her chest, conveying her surprise. "I see," she said, nodding her head. "Right. Our little Soujiro, always following a timeframe. I'm so proud! Well, I was just checking on you, Souji-kun. Good night."  
  
Soujiro smiled. Was he still to be treated like a child in here? He shook his head. |Ah, it's better like that,| he thought. |Well I'd rather be loved -- even to the point of being too overprotective -- by Shishio-sama, and Yumi-san, than to be placed in different foster homes each year.|  
  
"Oyasumi-nasai too, Yumi-san." He flashed a pleasant smile.   
  
Yumi slowly bent her head down and kissed him on the cheek. "Sleep tight." Just then, the door creaked, and revealed the person who opened it. Soujiro and Yumi drew their heads toward the door to find out who it was.  
  
"Shishio!" Yumi exclaimed happily, smiling. Shishio was unusually home early, which made her smile. She had missed him a lot. "You're home! I was just putting our little Souji-kun to sleep."  
  
"Yumi-san!" Soujiro exclaimed. "I'm not little anymore." He smiled.  
  
"Ah, I see." Shishio laughed, staying by the door. Soujiro and Yumi smiled back. Soujiro was happy; ever since the dreadful car accident occurred when Soujiro was just taken in, Shishio -- a distant uncle of his -- didn't smile much anymore, and was always serious. It was refreshing to see a smile shine through his usually gloomy facade, and to see his uncle in a cheerful mood. "Well, Soujiro, Yumi just likes to think you still are little. Come on, Yumi," he said. "Let's eat together."  
  
"Of course, Shishio." Yumi gave him a sweet peck on the cheek. Soujiro smiled at them. |How sweet.|  
  
Shishio returned Yumi's kiss. He turned to his nephew, who was smiling at them -- as usual. "Soujiro, would you like to eat before you sleep?"  
  
He nodded, and smiled like a little boy. "No thanks, Shishio-san, I've already eaten."  
  
"Okay," Shishio said warmly, his voice a welcoming tone to both Soujiro and Yumi's ears. Soujiro could even notice Yumi smile at the both of them from the corner of his eye. His bandages on his hand didn't scare Soujiro at all, though he felt that his uncle's arm looked like a mummy's. He was glad Shishio removed the bandages on Shishio's now-flawless face. Back then; he really looked like a mummy. "Oyasumi-nasai."  
  
"Good night to you too, Shishio-san."  
  
Shishio and Yumi closed the door behind them, and Soujiro heard their faint footsteps in the stillness of the room. He smiled. Disturbing the quietness, he rose up and ran his fingers through his unkempt hair. He went over to his bulletin board, walking groggily. Looking at the unorganised corkboard, he fixed it and thought of his week's schedule.   
  
|Okay, Saturday's done...tomorrow I'll go to Shishio-san's office to type my paper...Then go to swimming practice...|  
  
He checked his schedule, particularly the box that was marked 'Saturday'. He yawned, putting his hands over his mouth. "Yumi-san's house is pleasantly happy today..."  
  
He walked over to his bed, clicking the pen with his thumb. He laid the pen on his bedside table and laid himself down on the white comfortable sheets and smiled. "Hmmm...This feels nice."  
  
He closed his eyes peacefully, and buried his head under large, soft pillows. Soon, he unknowingly drifted off into the land of dreams, with a fine smile shining through.  
  
======  
  
The next day was a normal one, much like Soujiro had expected. Yumi still loved Shishio, and vice versa. Shishio was in his serious mood again. "Soujiro," a voice called out from behind. Soujiro turned on his heel to see who it was.  
  
"Oh, Shishio-san," he said, smiling nervously. He scratched his head, noticing his uncle's raised eyebrow. "Yeah?"  
  
Shishio walked over to the shiny black car in the spacious driveway. Opening the door, he looked at Shishio. "Let's go. We're late."  
  
Soujiro smiled sheepishly and gulped. He nervously fingered the diskette he was holding. "Okay," he said faintly.  
  
He sat down on his seat quietly. "Shishio-san?"  
  
Shishio turned the ignition, and the high-class engine gave a smooth purr instead of its loud roar. "Hmm?"  
  
"Are you mad?"   
  
"No. You just eat slowly, that's all. You ate so slowly this morning, I'm late for work."  
  
Soujiro's sweat dropped. "Um...right. Sorry."   
  
He sat for the entirety of the drive in boredom.|Shishio-san's so serious, he won't even turn the radio on,| he thought, smiling faintly. He put his elbow on the car door, and rested his cheek on his palm. He looked at Shishio, whose eyes never wandered off the road. |His mind is always focused on a certain thing...how admirable.| Soujiro opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. |Never mind,| he thought. |He won't turn on the radio anyways.|  
  
Soujiro continued on wandering into his train of thoughts, until his uncle's deep voice brought him to reality. "Soujiro, get ready. We're here," he said, as the car pulled up into the large office driveway. It stopped, and Shishio patted Soujiro on the back. "Let me get your things for you."  
  
Soujiro greeted his offer with a warm smile, but refused. "I'm fine, Shishio-san,"  
he said. "I can carry this...um..." he looked at the diskette in his hand. Shishio was...offering to carry a diskette? |Weird,| thought Soujiro. |Unusual for a serious guy like him.| "...um...I can carry this on my own."  
  
"You don't have any more gear to bring?" Shishio asked as he and Soujiro got out of the car.  
  
"No, Shishio-san. I'm okay."  
  
"You said so."  
  
The two walked slowly to the office doors, chatting with each other happily. Soujiro and Shishio's hearty voices could be heard from the distance, displaying their closeness to Shishio's officemates who greeted them along the way.   
  
Soujiro's eyes darted to a young, vaguely familiar girl with black hair, who was dressed in all blue, walking with his uncle's officemate. The girl in blue caught his eye when she smiled. Shishio looked at his nephew and raised an eyebrow.   
  
"Soujiro?" he asked.  
  
Soujiro didn't answer - he stared at the girl, who opened the office door and went in. "Charming..." he said to himself, pertaining to the girl who had just went in the office.  
  
"Soujiro?" Shishio waved his hand in front of Soujiro. "What's charming?"  
  
Soujiro shook his head, clearing his mind of thoughts. He smiled. "Oh, the girl. I've seen her before."  
  
Shishio grinned. "Is it that my little Soujiro is now a man?"  
  
"What?" Soujiro asked, wide-eyed. "I've always been one, Shishio-sama...."  
  
"No, I meant that I know you fancy her. It's a surprise to see someone your age here, isn't it? Well, the name's Misao Makimachi, Aoshi Shinomori's cousin."  
  
"Thought it is a surprise to see her, I don't fancy her, Shishio-sama. She's just..." Soujiro paused to think. "...Interesting."  
  
Shishio smiled. "Really now?" he said to himself. "Well, Souji-kun, Let's see about that." He smiled deviously, and went inside his office.   
  
It was a normal day for Soujiro and Shishio once again.  
  
============  
  
Author's Note:   
Please tell me what you think...thanks! This is my first MisaoXSoujiro fan fiction, and I'd love it if you told me what you thought of it. I accept any kinds of reviews, but don't flame, okay? Constructive criticism's better. Much, much better.  
  
Disclaimer:   
As much as I'd like to say it is, the characters of Rurouni Kenshin aren't mine. They all belong to Nobuhiro-sensei. Thank you very much! 


	2. II Nauseating Nuisance

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PLEASANT SURPRISES  
Chapter Two - Nauseating Nuisance  
(c) Original Storyline by Rainesolo  
=====  
Misao Makimachi looked up at her cousin and asked, "Who was that?" She gave him a puzzled look, a look of curiosity drawn in her eyes.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"That boy we just saw with Shishio."  
  
"Oh, him? He's Soujiro Seta. Shishio's nephew," Aoshi Shinomori answered in a low, seemingly emotionless voice as they entered the office together. They were only a few steps inside the office when a young woman who, seemingly his secretary, who was on her way out of the office, joined them.  
  
"Aoshi-sama," the woman began in a rather sheepish manner. She stammered, and scratched her head. She bit her lip, saying, "I'm so sorry for coming here without your permission but I was told by Shishio-sama to put up your computer's new hard drive. I'm so sorry, Aoshi-sama, I promise not to do it again, please forgive me! I mean, shouldn't have done it, but Shishio-sama ordered me to do so, and I couldn't possibly disobey him---"  
  
"Thank you. You may leave."  
  
The young woman wouldn't let her chance slip out of her hands, however. She was in a private conversation with Aoshi Shinomori, and she was not going to make it end so soon. She wanted to get as near to her superior as possible, so she barged into their conversation even if she wasn't invited, making a lot of comments and asking a lot of questions.   
  
"Oh, and you were talking about Soujiro Seta, right? Oh, he's such a fine lad! He's so very polite, very respectful, and he's always - and I mean always -- smiling. Every day is a bright, sunshine-y day if you're by his side... unless of course, you're with Aoshi-sama here," she said, pausing to giggle. She then cocked her head to the side slightly to give Misao a teasing smile. "You haven't seen the kid before, have you? The look on your face is priceless, Misao-chan! Looks like you've been struck by the love-at-first-sight---"  
  
"Shut up," interrupted Misao, who turned red.  
  
"---virus! You know, when the love bug hits you, it's impossible to pull away! You'll never be cured," she prattled on, ignoring the glares the two were giving her. "But then again, it's normal, happens to everyone. How about you, Aoshi-sama? Eyeing anyone in particular in this wonderful institution? There are so many girls here, you should be able to pick one out very soon!"  
  
"Aoshi, you have a very nice office, but may I use your computer now?!?" Misao asked Aoshi in an unusually forced and rather loud voice, raising it on purpose to give the other young woman the hint that it was time for her to stop talking, and that she was to leave them alone. "I really need to work on this now, or else I'm never going to get done and it'll be all your fault!!!"  
  
But her efforts to throw the woman away were all in vain. "Oh, you can use my computer, Misao-chan!" she exclaimed. "Oh, and my desktop theme is very nice," she bragged, grinning proudly. "You see, my brother came home from the United States just a few days ago and he brought new software that were so user-friendly and very easy-to-use, enabling me to make such wonderful themes. You can make almost anything, because it's so amazing! State-of-the-art technology! I can show you how they're done! Come, come, my cubicle's this way!" she motioned, pointing to the direction of her cubicle. She put her hand on Misao's shoulder.  
  
Misao looked at Aoshi with pleading eyes. 'Help!' she mouthed quickly as she was dragged away by her cousin's talkative secretary.  
He smiled thinly, allowing himself to enjoy the situation even a little bit, before he walked towards his desk and sat down on the comfortable reclining chair, leaning against it and savoring the moment. Things like this don't happen every day, he thought to himself. But I do hope Misao likes talkative people...  
  
=====  
  
|Where is she?| wondered Soujiro, eyes darting from wall to wall. His uncle Shishio's office has certainly changed over the long time he hadn't been there. The girl, Misao Makimachi, wasn't anywhere in sight. He bit his lip, and Shishio emerged from behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Soujiro, looking for anyone?" he asked in a muffled voice, holding office papers in the other hand.  
  
"Oh, no, I'm not looking for anyone. Where's your office here, Shishio-san?" he said, feigning curiosity. He smiled. "This place has certainly changed since I've stopped visiting it."  
  
Shishio smirked. "It certainly has. This way, Soujiro," he said, pointing to the left hallway. Just then, they heard a hearty laugh coming from the corridor to their right. They spun around to look. Nobody was there, but they were certain that it came from a room in the hallway.  
  
"Cool wallpaper!" The loud voice went, coming from a room far behind them. Shishio smiled cleverly at Soujiro. "That must be Makimachi-san. Her voice fills the building every Sunday. If she doesn't use the computer at Shinomori's, she'd use his secretary's."  
  
"Ah," said Soujiro, a sheepish smile dawning on his face.   
  
Shishio raised an eyebrow. "You're smiling in a weird way, Soujiro," he said. "Could it be you're...." his voice trailed off, leaving Soujiro behind to guess what he meant.  
  
"NO, Shishio-san," he said, his eyes widened at Shishio. "I'm not. Hmmm..." said Soujiro, bored. He tapped his foot on the floor.  
  
"Well, Soujiro," Shishio said, looking at his watch. "I'm extremely late. I'll have to go. Anyways, I'm sure you can find your way. Office is at the left corridor."  
  
Shishio disappeared behind a corner and the click-y sound of his footsteps faded after a while. "Hmmm..." he said to himself. He smiled. "Now to find Makimachi-san."  
  
=====  
  
Author's Note:  
*Looks at her notepad, in which the author's note is scribbled on* Whew, this is going to be longer than I expected. *starts typing* Okay, so you've read the second installment of my fan fiction, Pleasant Surprises! I hope you enjoyed. I would want to apologize if the pacing is a little bit slow, and there are not any Misao and Soujiro interactions yet! But I'll get it up soon in the third chapter, and no, you won't have to wait so long for it. Anyways, this chapter was co-written by a really good friend of mine - I consider her my sister - Madamoiselle Kazie - and I just want to let her take some of the credit for her hard work. Also, special thanks to those who've reviewed; you've certainly made my day. Thanks!  
  
Disclaimer:  
Nope, not mine. Nuh-uh, everything belongs to the big man, Nobuhiro Watsuki. The characters are his. Storyline is mine, though. But thanks for reading! 


	3. III No Time For Goodbyes

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PLEASANT SURPRISES  
Chapter Three - No Time For Goodbyes  
© Original Storyline by Rainesolo  
=====  
  
==========  
  
"And it just gets better and better! Want to see some more? I've got, like, twenty of them in here!" The Secretary said as she flashed a diskette, smiling insanely as she inserted the diskette in. "Oh, you **just have to look at ****this! Misao? Mi-misao?"  
  
Too late. Misao wasn't listening anymore, but she found herself in deep thought. But unlike other daydreamers she did ****not have any idea about what she was thinking. To her it was just a sea of thoughts that her feet were just wading in. It was all hazy to her, but images of Soujiro flashed in her mind.  
  
_Don't think of him, Misao,_ she thought to herself. _Stop. You need a walk. A walk **away** from The Secretary.  
  
She stood from her chair, ignoring The Secretary's persistent efforts to show off her creations.   
  
"Hey!" The Secretary said, blocking her way. "Just where do you think you're going?" She put her hands on her hips, and her eyebrows knitted into a frown. "Not fair. I've only just begun my showcase of wallpapers I've created during my free time here!"  
  
Misao shook her head disapprovingly. "I'm going out, if it isn't obvious yet." She gave The Secretary a fake smile and stepped out of her way, walking away from her and opening the door. Grabbing her English essay, she put one foot out the door and said in a fake tone, "I liked the wallpapers though. They were nice."  
  
"Hey! Come back here! Going to see Soujiro, aren't you?! Come back!" The Secretary called out after Misao had closed the door behind her. "Brat…" she muttered. "If she wasn't related to Aoshi-sama I would've clobbered her!" She stomped her feet. "Ugh…"  
  
=====  
  
After a long search, Soujiro decided to give up. "It's no use," he said.  
  
_Hey, wait! Soujiro!_ his sub-conscience told him, immediately popping in his head. Soujiro paused for a quick breath as he held his History papers in his hands. __This is not you! Since when did you start to look for somebody you haven't even met formally around a big office building? Since when did you start to like anyone? Besides, you just saw her a while ago! Bakero no baka! Baka! Baka, you hear?  
  
He shook his head as his sub-conscience continued to bash himself with insults.  
  
He made his way to the other side of the hall, and entered Shishio's office, only to find Shinomori Aoshi and his Uncle Shishio engaged in heavy business talk. Shishio and Aoshi's heads whipped in Soujiro's direction. Soujiro's jaw dropped, realizing that he had just interrupted an important business meeting. He gave both the confused men a smile, and quickly proceeded to get out of the room.  
  
"Gomen," he said as he grasped the doorknob, ready to turn it anytime.  
  
"Soujiro," Shishio said.  
  
Soujiro turned around. "Yes?"  
  
"Are you doing anything at all?" Shishio asked.  
  
"No, not really."  
  
Shishio held out a thick bunch of papers out to Soujiro. "Here. Carry these to the car, all right? Don't soil them, or even **try** to."   
  
Shishio's emphasis on the word 'try' made Soujiro's eyes widen. He reached over and got the papers and keys to the car, putting his reports on top. "Aa, Uncle Shishio."  
  
Closing the door behind him, he shook his head. It's boring here, he thought to himself. As he sighed, he saw a familiar woman walk towards him.  
  
"Hi!" the woman said. "I'm Aoshi's secretary, and you're Soujiro Seta, right?"  
  
"Hai," Soujiro stated.  
  
"Have you seen Aoshi-sama? He's been missing again!" The lady put her hands on her hips. "Oh, that Misao is such a brat! She wouldn't even look at my other wallpapers! She was muttering stuff about being noisy, so I put a little calming medicine in her drink to calm her down."  
  
Soujiro thought that it was the lady who needed those calming medicines, but instead smiled. "Look who's talking," he muttered to himself.  
  
"What did you say?" The Secretary asked suspiciously.  
  
Soujiro raised an eyebrow. "Oh, me? Nothing. So...what were you saying about Misao?"  
  
"Oh, yes, that brat! She ran off somewhere right after she printed her English essay in my cubicle, then I remembered I was supposed to join Aoshi-sama and Shishio-sama in their meeting! Silly me, haha! You like her, don't you? I know, you fell in love at first sight, didn't you? Oh, yes, that's exactly what happened to me and Aoshi! You do like Misao, right?"  
  
A vein almost popped in Soujiro's forehead. "Uh, no."  
  
"Yeah right, once you catch the love bug -- it's hard to creep away from it! I told that to her too, and she was lik, 'No way!' Practically the same reaction, really! Oh, I'm running real late! Do you know where the meeting is, dear? I wouldn't want to miss every valuable minute of seeing Aoshi-sama -- oops, I mean I wouldn't want to be late," She said in almost one breath, chuckling at the same time.  
  
Soujiro smiled politely. _This woman is nuts._ "Right," he said. "Well, the meeting's in Uncle Shishio's office."  
  
The Secretary started off towards the stairs, and ran quite akwardly with her heels making an annoying, 'click-y' sound. Soon after, she disappeared and Soujiro heard her loud apologies to Aoshi and Shishio. He grinned, and then started to walk toward the front exit of the building.  
  
=====  
  
Misao yawned as she rubbed her eyes. "This place is boring."  
  
She headed slowly for the exit, hoping to eat at the Shirobeko, the nearby restaurant that her Uncle Okina owned. To pick up the pace, she started running towards the exit. Just as she was about to turn a blind corner, she bumped into a young man that she didn't see before it was too late, and the next thing that she knew was that her English essay papers flew everywhere.  
  
"Ouch!" The young man cried out as he looked up to find a **really** frazzled Misao sitting on his stomach.  
  
And as Lady Luck would have it – the boy was Soujiro.   
  
"You watch it, tough guy!" Misao shouted, her voice deepening. "Why didn't you watch where you were going?"  
  
Papers were everywhere, and Soujiro nodded and smiled sheepishly to hint that he was in much pain. "Mind getting off me, Misao?" he asked reluctantly.  
  
"Oh, _****sure!" she said, making sure to emphasize the sarcasm in her tone as she reluctantly stood up. She rolled her eyes. Soujiro rubbed his stomach to relieve the pain that Misao's bottom had brought upon him. "You think I'm **that** heavy, eh? And how do you know my name?"  
  
"My Uncle Shishio told me. Anything wrong with that?" he said, smiling politely as he stood up and ruffled his hair.  
  
Apparently, Misao found his smile annoying, and his politeness in the situation to be even **more** annoying. She glared at him, thrusting daggers out at him with her look. "Give me my papers, you—you—"  
  
Soujiro smiled. To him, Misao looked funny fumbling for words. _If only I can get her to look like this everytime we meet, I'd be the happiest person on earth, he thought. He chuckled. "It's Seta. Seta Soujiro."  
  
"Uh, right." She turned scarlet, and she felt her cheeks burn. _This is **great**. Looky look, I'm mutating into a ripe, **red** tomato!_ She thought, rubbing her cheeks to hide her embarrassment.  
  
Soujiro squatted and picked up the papers while Misao looked down on him, a smug smile on her face. "Soujiro, you ran into me; you'll have to get the papers."  
  
Soujiro shook his head. "Aa, Misao…Here," he said, standing up and holding out a bunch of semi-crumpled papers in his hands.  
  
She grabbed the papers from his hands. "Uh, thanks," Misao said doubtfully, not bothering to check her papers.  
  
"Of course not," Soujiro replied innocently. "Hold on."  
  
He turned his back as he fished for his Uncle Shishio's keys in his pocket. "Oh, and it was nice meeti—"  
  
Soujiro's jaw dropped as he turned to face Misao. But she was gone, as if she disappeared into thin air. Soujiro felt a twinge of disappointment.  
  
He sighed. _She didn't even say "thank you."_  
  
=============  
  
**Translations:**   
Bakero/Baka: "stupid"   
Aa: "yes"  
Hai: a more formal form of "yes"  
  
**Author's Notes: **Don't kill me. I know you're all mad at me for not updating – but since you asked…I updated! Yay! I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't really worth anything, because I'm still suffering Writer's Block. I hate it, and I'm sure you do too. Please do give me ideas and suggestions that would help the story. After all, it is my very first Sou/Mi fic. Well, for all complaints and suggestions, please tell me in your reviews. And **no**, don't flame. I hate it – and I mean _****HATE – when people just flame like this:  
  
_"Yuck this fic is GrOssss…..i hate it forever you r not a gud writer you suck and I mean, you suck! I don't like misao/soujiro and this fic sux as well! Go to hell u s2pd wrytr"_  
  
It's utter nonsense, you hear? I mean…if you don't like Sou/Mi, don't read. And as much as possible leave constructive criticism instead of flames. ^^;   
  
As simple as that, ne? Oh, and before I forget, a big 'thank you' to ****Chaos on FF.net/**RanmyakuChan** on AIM – this chapter is dedicated to you (aside from the readers, of course)!   
  
Ja, minna!  
**


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